72 GARDEN FOES. 



explaine<l, the covering or ylieltei- for it. The young scales 

 are small, flat, and white^ and each one in t'urnishe<l with 

 a sucker-like apparatus, \\itli which it pierces the titiisues 

 of the shoots to get at the i^ap. The insects multiply very 

 fast , consequently will very soon cover the shootis entirely 

 if not checked. 



Eemedies. — (1) The best time to get rid of these pests 

 is in winter. Alter pruning spray the tree with Caustic 

 Alkali Wash (Nos. 1 or 8), or with a lime, sulphur, and 

 salt spray (Formula No. 5). (2) Paint the wood with the 

 following solution: One ounce of soft soap, lib. of tobacco 

 paper, and 4oz. of sulphur to one gallon of water. Mix 

 thoroughly, and apply with a painter's brush. 



Oystcr-shell Bark Louse (Aspidiotus ostraformis). 

 — A scale insect which infests the bark of the apple, pear, 

 plum, apricot, nectarine, and peach. The perfect insect 

 is somewhat like an oyster-shell in shape, hence its name, 

 and usually of the same colour as the bark. The female 

 scales are wingless and the males w^inged. The latter 

 a])])ear in April and May, and fertilise the fenndes, which 

 in due course produce eggs that hatch into larvcC hi June 

 and July. Once the larvae have found a congenial spot 

 they settle down to pierce the bark and feed on the sap, 

 gradually covering themselves with the oyster-like shell. 

 This pest is capable of doing serious harm to the trees, so 

 should be promptly dealt wdth. 



IIemeuies. — Spray the trees thoroughly with Formuhe 

 Nos. 1, 2, 3, or 5, in February, or smear the baik with a 

 pigment of cow-dung, lime, and clay in winter. The 

 former plan is the most effectual. 



Pith Moth (131astodacna vinolentella).— The larvi« of 

 this muih do a great deal of injury to the young shoots of 

 fruit trees. The parent is a small moth with wdngs half an 

 inch in wddth. The colour varies, but the fore wings are 

 generally black, barred with white or mottled with black- 

 and-brown ; hindwings grey; head white. The moths appear 



